Comments on: Mowing My Weeds: Why Buy When You Can Borrow?

By: John Anderson

John Anderson — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:13:00 +0000

NeighborLibrary.com has just been created to connect neighbors for borrowing rather than buying, with anonymous postings including a tool category in addition to categories for most items. It also covers neighbors offering and receiving help from one another, categorized as well. It's free, and very easy to use.

One can search for items and help by distance to the offering neighbor, category, and keywords.

Of course, the key to its use is populating your neighborhood with lots of postings. Doing so through a neighborhood group or a religious or civic organization may be a good way to encourage posting. Do you know people and/or organizations that might have an interest in getting borrowing and giving help going, neighbor to neighbor?

Please feel free to pass information along to anyone.

Disclosure: I have developed this site with my own funding to be of help to all. I hope you can make good use of NeighborLibrary.com in Oakland.

john@neighborlibrary.com

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Your ‘weed’ yard is beautiful !

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:37:00 +0000

My daughter pulled the weeds out of our little patch of earth a few weeks ago. We plan to plant mint any day now, no mowing, just hand picking for tea :)

By: Cheap Like Me

Cheap Like Me — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:55:00 +0000

That is fantastic! I see we don’t have a tool library in our state (Colorado). When my daughter was small, our local library did have a toy library in its basement — a great way to share costs, minimize waste and add some novelty to her play.

By: Robj98168

Robj98168 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:57:00 +0000

I wish we could open a tool library here! That would be so cool. I personally hate human power mowers- ta’int natural~! I use an electric mower most of the time occasionaly fir up the little tractor for bigger jobs! But glad you were able to rent yours, ms. fish Now I must ask- wehy didn’t you save all your cuttings for stuffing pillows???

By: Green Bean

Green Bean — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:46:00 +0000

As you know, I’m mighty jealous of your tool library! I do think that borrowing, trading, and buying used will get us a lot farther, keep our wallets full and our homes clutter-free.

By: Rosa

Rosa — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:11:00 +0000

What an awesome resource. Aside from not having to buy tools, think of all the space the library saves - space people dont' have to heat, cool, clean, organize, and keep secure.

We have a push mower, and when the weeds get too tall for it (which seems like less than a foot, but maybe i'm lying to myself about how tall our yard gets) either one of the neighbors volunteers to mow it, or we borrow their electric mower.

It works out nice - they don't have to look at our weeds, we don't have to buy a big expensive mower.

By: A Slice of the Pie

A Slice of the Pie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:59:00 +0000

The idea that each one of us needs to have one of everything is so frustrating. Sharing/borrowing is such a great way to use our resources.

Last summer I put out a note on a local yahoo group for a push reel mower. I was willing to pay, but someone I know and have visited with had one in her shed. She offered it to me for free since she wasn't using it.

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:38:00 +0000

We have a tool lending library too but it might be discontinued due to city budget cuts. I hope not because I hoped to use their rototiller this year to dig through the rock hard clay soil in my front flowerbeds and plant strawberries. It took me over a week to do it with a shovel but on a positive note, that's where the name Condo Blues comes from!

If the tool lending library is closed this spring, I'll rent the tools instead of buying.

By: Clif

Clif — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:48:00 +0000

It's a great idea to share things, as long as the things are taken care of by each user.

Speaking of the waste of us having the same things, have you seen The Trashout Squad? It's a tale of two tragedies, 1)people losing their stuff and 2)their stuff, most of it perfectly good, going straight to the landfill.